Date Night
by iciclegirl235
Summary: Teenage hormones, ten teenagers with those said hormones, a new restaurant- all trapped in the magical world known as New York City at Nighttime.  Oh, the possibilities.   Amy/Ian; multiple pairings
1. Chapter 1

Well, I have no reason at all to post this story, because I really don't have the time.

But I'm doing it anyways...because I'm super-high since a certain 10th book in a certain awesome series has come out TO-DAY. And I'll be going out tonight to get it, oh yeah. But for now, I must work on my French homework.

So of course, I'll post my story "Date Night" instead. It's not a one-shot. I'm a slow updater- even when I'm completely obsessed with a story, like I am with this one. You have been warned.

Otherwise, enjoy!

* * *

_From: Karly Andreas .com  
To: Kelly Quinn  
Dear Kelly,  
I'm not really sure what to do about my boyfriend. I mean, he's totally hot, but he's got a little obsession with- I'm not even kidding- dinosaur stickers. For real. He like has boxers with dinosaur stickers _on_ them; it's pretty darn creepy. I completely love him and don't want to break up with him, but if this little obsession goes on, I'm not sure I'll be able to stand it! Heck, he's got a dinosaur mural all over his apartment walls, and there are tiny little dinosaur stickers surrounding the mural. It's outrageous. What do I do?_

_-Not Dino-Crazed_

Amy was sitting at home, reading the emails she'd gotten for her advice column on the _New York Times. _

"Amy! Dude, you will not believe who's got a date tonight." Dan grinned from ear-to-ear at her.

Amy didn't even look up. "Cut the crap, Dan. Samantha Peters would never go out with anyone like you...she dates male humans, not male _baboons._"

That didn't wipe the grin off Dan's face. "I'm not going out with Samantha Peters, dorkwad. I'm going out with Shelly Gonzalez! That's the next best thing, fasho."

Amy glanced up at her annoying little 14 year old brother- _fasho?_ _Dorkwad? _Was he serious?- with an expression of disbelief. "Oh, come on, Dan. You know Shelly would only go out with you if you were the last living guy on the planet- and even then she wouldn't be able to comprehend whether you're the last living _guy_ or last living _baboon._"

Dan rolled his eyes. "The baboon thing's kinda getting old, Ames," he said. "And you don't believe that Shelly's going out with me tonight?" He smirked. "Check this out.

Dan pulled out his cell from his pocket and showed it to Amy. "Read it and _weep,_ sista!"

_Re: Tonight_

___From: Shelly Gonzalez_  
To: Dan Cahill  
_Hey dan! i waz wonderin if you wanted to hang out 2nite? mayb we cud go to that new resteraunt, coralie's? txt me _

_luv, shelly _

Amy first thought? _Shelly spelled restaurant wrong…and was. What a ditz- how do you spell "_was"_ wrong?  
_Amy's second thought? _This is all a joke. Like that time Dan convinced me spiders were nesting in my closet.  
_Amy's third thought? _How did _Dan,_ of all people, get a date? How come _I'm_ the one sitting alone at home on a Friday night? I mean…I'm not The New York Times' _Dear Kelly Quinn_ writer for nothing. _

What Amy said out loud?

"Why is that text message your _screen saver?_"

Dan looked embarrassed. "My, uh, phone b-broke when I opened the message," he stuttered out. "So it got…frozen. Permanently. Forever. Yeah."

Amy knew she could cause him further embarrassment by asking more, but chose to spare him.

"So whatcha gonna get her?"

Okay, so maybe she _was_ going to cause him further embarrassment. Whatever- it could be considered revenge.

Dan looked at her in bewilderment. "_Get_ her?" he asked, confused. "I have to _get her_ something?"

Amy smirked uncharacteristically. "Um, _duh,_ dweeb. You've _always_ got to get a girl something on a date."

Dan scratched his head, baffled- and he claimed he wasn't a baboon. "What do you mean? What should I get her?"

"Flowers," Amy simply said. Then she turned back to poor Karly Andreas's email- she didn't need to further humiliate her brother when it was obvious he was going to do enough of that tonight with his lovely _date._

Little did Amy- or Dan- realize that Dan's date was going to end up far more complicated than either of them could imagine…

* * *

Jonah Wizard looked into his garage-sized closet, wondering what to wear for the night. Nothing too flashy, though, because tonight, he couldn't be noticed.

He looked through his ripped jeans and leather jackets and chain jewelry and found…nothing. This unnoticeable thing was pretty hard, he soon realized, when you were _da Wizard._

"How do I dress without my Wizard _bling_, Richay?" Jonah asked his butler. "I need my _ba-ling, _yo!"

Richay's always neutral expression did not change, even after Jonah's obvious mispronunciation of the word "bling". "Do not panic, Master," he said in his always-calm voice. "Why, if I may ask, do you need to unnoticeable during tonight's merrymaking, Master Jonah?"

Jonah sighed. "It ain't no merrymaking, Richay. Imma be goin' out with a _girl_. Taking her to that new restaurant, Coralie's."

If Jonah had turned around, he would've seen a amused twinkle in Richay's eyes.

"Oh, I believe I see, Master Jonah. This girl must mean a lot to you, then, if you don't want the press bringing publicity to you two, is it not?"

Jonah eyed a dark red v-neck with black flame designs at the bottom. "No way, Richay. That's not the problemo. I'm not goin' _out_ with her, I'm going out with her."

"And what might the difference between 'goin' _out' _and 'goin' out' be, Master Jonah?"

Jonah fingered a dulled gold belt with silver letterings saying "_Numba One Gangsta"_ on it.

"Richster, there is a _big_ diffie between 'goin' _out' _and 'goin' out'. This chick I'm goin' out with tonight, she's my _cousin. _Well, sorta. I can't see how we're all related. But she and her brotha _did_ win the clues competition, so I guess she's gotta have some o' my Wizard genes. Or Cahill genes. Whatevs. Back to the real deal- I need some advice from her, so I'm takin' her out to dinner. Only I want to keep it kinda chill, cuz I don't want her thinkin' she has a real chance with _da Wizard._ I mean, she's pretty hot, but another one of my cousin's got an eye on her, and I don't wanna get caught up in that mess. I mean, she said it was all cool between them too, but she's still pretty unchill with him. Hmm, she's got so many relationship prollums of her own, I dunno if I really wanna grill her with _mine, _but she really handled that one guy, Taylor Loitner, or whatevah, really well. I mean, Lottner, or Loitner, or whatever his name was, he was really messed up, cuz he still wanted to be with that Taylor Swift chick, but didn't know how to get her, and she totally solved his problems, like_…_" Jonah rambled on.

Richay took the information in quickly, then asked Jonah another question, the amused twinkle in his eye still there.

"Excuse me for asking, Master Jonah, but have you even asked this girl out yet?"

Jonah pulled out a pair of faded gray skinny jeans and gazed at with a critical eye. "Nope, but she'll deffo say yes. Who would turn down _da Wizard?_" Then Jonah paused, and put the jeans down. "Then again…she's said no to Jonah Wizard before. But why would she do it again? The hunt's over." Jonah relaxed, and pulled out the dark red v-neck to go with the jeans.

"Of course, Master Wizard. But may I just question, what is this girl's name?"

Jonah pulled out a leather jacket- he couldn't resist- and handed the pile of clothes to Richay to carry back to his bedroom. "Amy's the girl. Amy Cahill."

* * *

"Hey, Sinead, I heard you've got a hot date tonight with _Mikey,_" taunted Ned, one of her brothers.

"Yeah, that Michael is just a _dream,_ or so I've heard," teased Ted. Sinead glared at them.

"Would you guys shut up? I am _trying_ to get ready here."

Honestly, how was a girl supposed to live in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment with her stupid brothers? Who were her stupid triplet-ees, or whatever? Who went to the same stupid high school as her?

And, well, so did all of her _other_ stupid relatives. But they weren't even all seniors, so _whatever._

_Hair down, or hair up?_, she asked herself.

"Sineady, I thought you had your eyes on that Tomas, _Hammy Holt,_" asked Ned in what might've been an innocent tone. "I think I recall you and Bellina calling him the, ah, _'only hot senior left'_?"

Ted guffawed. "You're kidding me, Sin. Besides, what was it that you were calling that Lucian kid, again? That _darling_ Ian?"

Ned roared with laughter. "_Ian Kabra?_ He's a junior, a brat, a Lucian, and, most importantly-

"-Completely-

"-In love with-

"Amy Cahill," they finished together, then sighed.

"Oh, Amy," began Ted. "She will forever have my heart, with that beautiful red-brown hair…and her bookish mind…"

"Don't forget those striking green eyes…like that one stone, I can't remember, but it matches that one necklace she always wears…not to mention she's got a freaking _job_ as some girl named Kelly in the _Times, _she totally solved the Taylor/ Taylor issue like _that_, and they even got a picture of her in the paper, in that little orange dress…" Ned looked like he was trapped in dreamland.

"Such long legs," fantasized Ted. "Remember when she was that stuttering little chick who could barely get her nose out of a book? Oh, how she's blossomed…she got Hammy, Kabra, _and_ Mikey in her hands, who wouldn't fall in love with such a-

"ENOUGH!" screamed Sinead to her two stupid, lovestruck brothers, pointing her eyeliner pencil at them dangerously. "You guys are _complete_ morons!"

Sinead went back to applying her eyeliner. Amy Cahill wasn't _that_ pretty. Honestly, Ned and Ted made her sound like some sort of _goddess._ Which she WASN'T.

Oh, yeah, so maybe she did grow a few inches since she was 14. And suppose that her hair really was just the right kind of straight-wavy-curly. And possibly she _might_ have some huge job on the _Times_ even though she was sixteen. She only got that job because she was all famous for winning some stupid Clue hunt. Like Sinead would ever want to win _that. _And the Taylor/ Taylor thing was _so _3 week ago. Who _cared_ if Taylor Swift was about to become Taylor Lautner, so she had the same name as her husband? Not Sinead Starling, that's who.

No, she wasn't going to let the "lovely" Amy Cahill ruin her night. No, instead, she was just going to think of the charming, handsome Michaels di Angelo and all of his 6'4", dark haired, ¼ Mexican goodness…

That date at Coralie's was going to be fantabulous- or, so she thought.

* * *

Reviews would be niiice, yes?

ADIOS MON AMIES :D

_Into the Gauntlet_, here I come.


	2. Chapter 2

And she FINALLY updates. Sorry it's horribly long. Enjoy!

* * *

"REAGAN! WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_ IN THE BATHROOM? OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR!"

Madison Holt pounded on the bathroom door. Her twin sister, Reagan, sighed.

"MAD! Would you just use the other bathrooms or something? Dad didn't let us rent this freaking _mansion_ to have you banging on the bathroom door while I'm in it!"

Madison glared at the door- though Reagan couldn't actually see her. "Yeah, _stupid, _ but I want to use THIS ONE!"

Reagan screamed in frustration and swung open the door. "Happy now, loser?" she asked her sister. Reagan didn't say anything for a second; and had justification for that. Reagan was wearing a-

"_Reagan Winona-Shelly Holt, are you wearing a skirt?"_ blustered Madison. Reagan blushed.

"Got a problem with it?" she asked, lifting her chin up- though it was obvious she was nervous as hell.

Madison just sighed. "I swear, ever since we moved to New York, you've gotten so sof-

"_Don't. Say It." _growled Reagan, giving Madison a glare that could freeze ice.

"Fine, fine, jeez," Madison muttered, walking into the bathroom, then locking the door shut. Reagan began walking to her room.

"YOU'VE GONE _SOFT!"_ yelled Madison from the bathroom.

"YOU LITTLE WITCH!" screamed Reagan…though she didn't exactly say "witch". Madison just laughed with ruthlessness that would've impressed Isabel Kabra.

Reagan slammed her bedroom door shut and sank down onto the bed, covering her face with her hands- though careful not to mess up her neat brown eyeliner and mascara. She hadn't gone soft, despite whatever Madison was saying. She was just…_in love._

Who wouldn't be in love with him, with those green eyes the perfect shade of green, like that one stone- was it emerald? Or garnet? She couldn't remember- and his skater boy looks. And that dark blond hair that was _just_ long enough, the perfect length…

Reagan flung open her closet doors and took a good look at herself in the mirror. After all, if her date always looked good, she had to at _least_ reach those standards if not better.

Her blond hair was straight and- for once-out of her usual ponytail. She didn't really where much make up because she figured that Dan liked the natural look- so just foundation, blush, bronzer, mascara, cover up, eyeliner, eye shadow, lip liner, lip stick, lip gloss, and to top it all off, her _Le Parfum Naturale_ perfume. And yes, Madison was right- she _was_ wearing a skirt, because she happened to know that doing ballet really tones your legs- _I may be soft, Madison, but at least it's getting me somewhere,_ she thought. In all honesty, she didn't look like Reagan Holt; she looked….well, _pretty_.

Reagan closed the closet doors and lay down on the bed, deep in thought. She couldn't help but feel kind of guilty for blackmailing Dan Cahill…but then again, it's not like she was doing anything wrong. Reagan knew for sure that Shelly was out of town, on some vacation to Jamaica. Ha. Like Reagan hadn't been _there_ before.

And was it so wrong to use her natural talents? Her dad always told her that "if she was good at it, go for it", so…hacking into someone's phone and sending a text message from it to the boy she was in love with to convince him to go on a date with her even though _he _thought she was Shelly….shouldn't that count?

Reagan sighed as she thought of his response. _Yeah sure meet u there at 7! Luv, Dan _

_Luv, Dan. Luv, Dan. Luv, Dan. _

That was so like him…to write "luv" instead of "love" because it was only their first date and he didn't want to seem too eager. Too bad for him that Reagan could read between his lines.

_6:30 _was emblazoned on the clock in bright red. Normally, Reagan would've left at that time, but she didn't want to seem too eager…kind of like Dan! _Another_ thing they had in common!

Reagan closed her eyes, a smile playing across her lips, as she imagined how the scene might go like….

_Dan sat there, sighing. Where was Shelly? Was she standing him up? What did he even do to her? _Whatever,_ he thought. _Who needs Shelly Gonzalez when you can have someone like-

_ His thoughts were interrupted by the fancily decorated glass door of _Coralie's_ being opened by the doorman, and the most beautiful girl in the world walked through. _

_ She was completely stunning, totally gorgeous, absolutely striking …there were no words to describe it. Dan's breathe caught in his throat and he stared like there was no tomorrow. _

_ The pretty girl said something to the waiter, and began walking. People stared shamelessly, and Dan was annoyed. Why were _they_ staring at her? _

_ Dan almost fell out of his chair when he realized she was coming towards him. But when she got closer, something stirred in him. She looked so familiar, a bit like-_

"_Reagan?" he said in bewilderment. _

"_Hey, Dan," she said sweetly, ignoring the stares of the other people. _Wow,_ Dan thought. _She's as modest and kind as she is beautiful!

"_Reagan, I…I…you look amazing!" _

_Reagan blushed cutely. "Oh, well, thank you fo-_

_But her words had been cut off by the pair of lips that had landed on hers. _

"OI, REAGAN! DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE AT SEVEN?" screamed Madison from somewhere else in the house.

Irritated, Reagan groaned. "WHAT'S IT TO YOU?"

Reagan could practically _hear_ Madison rolling her eyes. "IT'S 7:00, YOU DOUCHEHEAD!"

Reagan jumped off of her bed and bounded down the stairs like someone had yelled free food. "Where's my purse, where's my purse?" she frantically asked her two other siblings. Madison threw a pillow at her and Hamilton stared.

"_WHERE'S MY PURSE?"_ she screamed, running around the kitchen, checking the pantry and the stove and the microwave. "WHERE?"

"Are you wearing a _skirt?_" asked Hamilton, shock and disgust mingled in his voice.

"No, you idiot, I'm wearing a _TOGA!"_ she yelled. "Where is it? I swear, I put it _right here_, it's pink, it matches the hemming of my skirt, because even though it's a white skirt and you can't even see the stitches in the hemming, it looks nice, because hemming means the stitches and stuff, though I'm not completely sure, but that's what Suzy told me, so I guess it might be right, but sometimes Suzy is wrong, actually a lot of times she is wrong, like one time she said that football players are the hottest, when in reality soccer players are the hottest, because a lot of football players aren't exactly skinny, and also they are old, and it's very unattractive, while I mean, look at David Villa, is he not the hottest soccer player ever, I mean, well, the Spain players are hot, and also they won the World Cup in 2010, so that makes them hotter, but then again there's David Beckham, but he kind of sucks even though he's hot, and-

"Reagan, stop babbling." Madison rolled her eyes. Reagan had a tendency to dither when she got panicky.

"Dude, is this your purse?" asked Hamilton, picking up the so-called pillow Madison had thrown at her.

"AAHHHH!" screamed Reagan. "That's it! That's it! Why'd you throw it? No, don't answer that. I gotta jet. Adios! Au revoir! Uh, bye!"

And in a flurry of pink, white, and blonde, Reagan was out of there.

* * *

Dan Cahill was panicking.

And of all the billion and one reasons why you think he is panicking are all WRONG.

Because he was not nervous for his date- he'd been out with girls before.

He was not sure of what to wear.

He was not sure of what to get her. (Well, okay, a little unsure. But when your sister is the Teen Queen of Relationships on the _New York Times_, you tend to pick some things up.)

He wasn't even worried about all the things that could go wrong on the date- those things that we all think about before we go on dates…like what if we get something stuck in our teeth, or get bad breathe, or smell like we haven't showered for two weeks, or our hair frizzes, or you don't wear matching socks, or anything worse than that (can it _get_ worse than that?). He didn't need to worry about what could possibly go wrong when everything had already gone wrong.

See, the problem was that Dan Cahill was lost. _Very_ lost.

He had specifically _told_ the cab driver to take him to Coralie's. And Dan was pretty sure that the new fancy restaurant called Coralie's was not a club- or at least, that's what the place he'd ended up in looked like.

Dan had gotten out of the cab, pumped and ready to hold the hand of Shelly Gonzalez, the second best thing to Samantha Peters. Instead, he got five very busty, scantily clad girls who looked _way_ older than his meager-freshman status looking at him with looks that very nearly made him run away in fear.

"Hey, buy me a drink, cutie?" asked the shortest one of the five- she looked sly and almost evil, as if she could tell he didn't belong here and was planning to use it against him. She had white-blonde hair and pale features, with big, pale blue, kohl rimmed eyes. She _had_ to be...like...the spawn of Satan or something. Dan stared.

"Uhhmm…I g-gotta run…" Oh, great. He sounded like Amy did when she was his age.

"Oh come on, hon," pleaded another one of the girls, who, in a bright red tube top, _very_ mini miniskirt, and skyscraper heels, was the most conservatively dressed of them all. "Get the girl a drink."

Dan sighed and glanced at the phone sticking out of The Child of the Devil's shorts pocket- it was 7:10. Great. Now Shelly would think he was standing her up.

Dan sighed again. Well…girls were girls…maybe _these_ girls would understand his situation…

"Look," he said. "I'd love to buy you a drink, but I've kind of got a date with someone else right now, at this new restaurant called Coralie's, but the driver accidentally dropped me off here at the _bar _Coralie's, and I _really, really_ need to get to the restaurant, so if it was possible for you guys to, um, find someone else, that'd be great."

The four girls stared at him for a second, and Dan couldn't decide whether or not they were trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or if they were too wasted to understand what he said.

"Aww, thash kinda shweet," slurred the most wasted of the four, an anorexic looking girl with a huge nose. "He dushn't want to be infaithful to hish girlfriend. Too bad Matt washn't like that- I hate Matt sho much I just want to-

A few choice words, a lot of hand motions, and three whooshing sounds made it clear of Anorexic Girl's intentions to Matt- and then she passed out.

"Oh, come on," said one of the two girls who hadn't spoken yet, a girl who had a neon pink streak running through her pitch black hair. "I thought she would last at least a _little_ longer."

"Last time she had 15 minutes," said the other girl, with ginger locks and freckles- _one of the Weasleys? _wondered Dan. "She got 20 today. Not bad, plus she had more of a reason to get drunk today."

"Okay, true," said the first of the two. "Rhea, Austin, could you get her a ride?"

"Sure thing, Mallory," said Rhea- formerly known as Evil Girl. "Later, cutie," she said, winking at Dan. He blushed, but managed to raise an eyebrow. Cute girls…cute _evil_ girls. They always got to him- but never had one made him do something so uncharacteristic as _blushing_…

The three walked away, leaving Dan and the two girls.

"So you need a ride to Coralie's?" asked Mallory. "I think we can arrange that, right, Blake?"

"We can," said Blake. "But we'd rather know your name first."

"Dan Cahill," he said without thinking- _That deserves a face-palm, _Dan thought angrily. Why would he tell two random girls his _real _name? Had he learned nothing during the 39 Clues hunt?

"Dan Cahill?" said Blake, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "You wouldn't happen to be related to _Amy_ Cahill, would you?"

Dan rolled his eyes. He was so used to this. People would realize his sister works for the Times, so they'd instantly suck up to him. Of course, it wasn't all bad. The guys who worked at Game Stop gave him free video games- with their numbers written on the box, along with a "Call me, Amy" scrawled next to it.

"Her one and only fantastic little brother," he said, slightly sarcastic.

"That's cool," said Mallory. "We know her from school."

"You guys go to Lucrelle, too?" Dan asked, surprised. Lucrelle Academy was an expensive place- not that he'd assumed these girls were poor, it's just they didn't seem the type to wear plaid skirts and button downs.

"You know it," said Blake. "We're juniors."

"Oh," was all Dan could say. "So I guess you guys know Ian Kabra, then?"

Why did he even bother asking? As cool and sophisticated as these two girls seemed- because unlike their friends (though...not really including the spawn of Satan, Rhea), they didn't look like hookers- even they started drooling at the name.

"Ian Kabra? Of _course_ we know him. Who doesn't?" said Mallory dreamily, clearly indicating that she didn't _really _know him.

"He's _amazing_," said Blake. "He's so wonderful, he's sweet, polite, cool…"

"He's a jerk" was what Dan wanted to say. But he needed to get to Coralie's.

"Yeah, he's alright," said Dan distractedly. "Look, do you guys think you could help me get to Coralie's? I was supposed to be there at seven."

"You _know_ know him?" squealed Mallory.

"_Seven?"_ shrieked Blake. "Your girlfriend's going to be so pissed!"

"Yeah, she not really my girlfriend," explained Dan. "It's our first date."

"Man, you're screwed," said Blake. "Here, I'll get you a ride-

And in 6 minutes flat, Dan had a ride in a smooth looking Lexus with a guy named Michael, who was going to Coralie's on a date, too. He was a good natured guy who looked very slightly Mexican.

"Thanks a ton, you guys!" said Dan, giving each girl a friendly hug. "If there's anything you ever need, just ask."

"No prob-

"Hey Dan?" asked Blake, interrupting Mallory.

"Yeah?" answered Dan, putting on his seatbelt.

"Rhea's a freshman at Galivree." Galivree Private School was Lucrelle's rival school.

_And tell me again, why do I care?, _wondered Dan.

Dan looked at her, confused. "So?"

Blake smirked. "So give her a call sometime."

As Dan drove away with the evil-looking blond girl on his mind, Blake and Mallory exchanged smirks.

"Have we scored?" asked Mallory, with really needing an answer. But Blake did anyway.

"We have, my friend," said Blake triumphantly. "And finally. He's just what Rhea needs."

* * *

"_Ian!_" shrieked Natalie Kabra shrilly. "_Where is my Valentino sequin petale tote?" _

Ian lazily walked by Natalie's bedroom. "You mean the one you didn't get?"

Natalie flung opened her door and stopped him in his tracks. "What do you mean, _the one I didn't get?"_

Ian didn't even blink. "You didn't _get_ the Valentino, you got some Roberto Cavalli tiger print design instead." He sighed. "Now could you get out of my way?"

But he needed have bothered wasting his breathe, because Natalie had already slammed the door in his face. Ian rolled his eyes and continued down the hall to the stairs, then exiting out through the front door.

Meanwhile, Natalie was- as it is so vulgarly put by commoners- freaking out.

"How am I supposed to tie this look together if I don't have my Valentino?" she asked herself, looking into the mirror at her perfectly made-up face. "Tiger prints don't go at all with pink _and_ lace! And suede boots! Suede and tiger prints are a combination for disaster! Tiger prints? What was I thinking? Tiger print? Why didn't you talk me out of this?"

Natalie glared furiously at her reflection, as though she were waiting for the image in front of her to back down. Then she mentally shook herself; what was she _doing?_

Going on a _date?_ With Parker? When she really liked-

Okay, so she didn't know who she liked. But facts are facts, and Natalie knew she didn't really have feelings for Parker Daniels, no matter how handsome and popular and jockish and rich he was.

Because that was the kind of guy Natalie Kabra dated. The handsome, popular, jockish, rich kind, who were destined to get in Stanford or Harvard with either a football scholarship or their dad somehow knowing the dean's uncle's son's cousin's daughter and managing to get them in. Dating someone who didn't meet any of that criterion was…

"Not done," she heard her mother say in the back of her head. "That is not Kabra behavior!"

Natalie closed her eyes, trying to get the beautiful, hurtful image of her mother out of her head, only to find it printed on the back of her eyelids as well.

"Okay, focus," she told herself. "No Valentino…what should I do instead?"

She stared into the walk-in closet that was about 1/16th of the one she had back home in London…but, technically, London wasn't really her home anymore. After all, how could it be when their mother was _jailed_ in that country and her father didn't even live there anymore? In fact, the whereabouts of Vikram Kabra remained unknown to everyone Natalie knew, including even Ian. So the penthouse in New York became their new home, and Ian was her legal guardian, as he was _just _18.

The new life Natalie led in New York was almost no different than the case in London- socially, that is. All the girls wanted to be her and all of the guys wanted her. And the fact that her mother was being held in the most secure prison in London- well, that somehow added to her glamour.

But financially, life was a bit more different. Instead of buying new purses every week she'd have to wait every _two_ weeks, and she had- Natalie still felt sick every time she thought of the heinous crime- worn the same outfit _thrice._ It was horrifying.

Natalie scanned the bags lined neatly on the rows in her closet. Which one to choose, which one to choose! Finally, her eyes landed on a Marc Jacobs sequined, leather number. She tried it out. Hmmm…classy enough. Natalie didn't want to seem overly classy, though, like those rich girls from Tribeca; the little snotty ones with lofts who tried much too hard. But she didn't want to seem, well, _normal,_ or just weird, like Mallory Dickinson and Blake Weathers and that crew.

Of course, there was the matter of Amy Cahill, who fell under no category. She was the one girl in the school that no one hated, because she was just…Amy. Even Natalie didn't hate her; of course, she'd never be caught sitting at lunch with the girl.

Natalie glided down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Natalie looked around. No one was home, and it looked okay…she could wear her apron over her outfit…and it had been so, _so_ long…

When Ian entered his home again, he entered a lovely looking place with the delightful aroma of warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and the sound of Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl".

"Are you...did you _bake?_" A bewildered Ian asked his sister, who was humming along to the music.

"Hmmm? Wha- oh, yes, I got into a mood…" Natalie smiled the devil's smile, knowing exactly the words that would send her older brother out of the room before he began to question her baking.

"You know, Mother Nature, my time of the month and all that."

Ian fled the room, not even bothering to steal a cookie.

Natalie smiled a satisfactory smile and left the cookies to cool. She folded her apron and put it away, then grabbed her purse.

A date and Parker Daniels were waiting for her at Coralie's. Natalie left the house, leaving the scent of chocolate chip cookies and Gwen Stefani behind.

* * *

So what do you think of the story? The old characters? The new characters? Where do you think it's going to go?

But most importantly, I need a question answered. I really need to know: **Do you want Dan to end up with Rhea or Natalie?** I already have it planned out, but remember...anything is possible in the mystical land that is New York at night.


End file.
